‘Nigeria not supporting US move against Boko Haram’

Posted by admin American Politics, Boko Haram, Latest Politics Thursday, May 24th, 2012

A US Congress push to designate Boko Haram a “foreign terrorist organisation” will not help efforts to start dialogue and does not have Nigeria’s backing, its Minister of Defence, Bello Mohammed, told Reuters on Wednesday.

“We are looking at a dialogue to establish the grievances of the Boko Haram. I think the attempt to declare them an international terrorist organisation will not be helpful,” said Mohammed said on the sidelines of a meeting between South Africa and Nigeria in Cape Town.

Nigeria allegedly held indirect talks with Boko Haram in March, but discussions broke down quickly and the militant group said it could not trust the government.

Pressure has been mounting on the Obama administration to formally designate Boko Haram a “foreign terrorist organisation”.

Scott Brown, a Republican senator from Massachusetts, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton late last week, urging her to designate the group as a terrorist organisation.

US Representatives Peter King and Patrick Meehan, chairmen of the House Homeland Security Committee and its counterterrorism subcommittee, released a letter they sent to Clinton suggesting the administration was moving too slowly.

Mohammed said, “Boko Haram is not operating in America and America is not operating in Nigeria. They are not involved in our internal security operations, so I don’t think it would be of much significance really in that respect. But we don’t support it.”wp_posts